


That's the Spirit!

by AllaboutFinn (Savoury_Jelly)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, Finnrey fridays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 20:52:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12350454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savoury_Jelly/pseuds/AllaboutFinn
Summary: Finn and Rey work in a haunted house, where there's a little more than meets the eye. For Finnrey Fridays' "Supernatural" theme.





	That's the Spirit!

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little shortfic I came up with because of the theme. I am a firm reysky person but I thought for what I have in mind here, finnsky might work a little better. I got this idea lurking in a Finnrey discord chat. Maybe one day I'll actually talk. Thanks!

The young woman laughed at his goofy little joke, making him a glow a little inside, then looked at her watch.

“Oh wow, it’s nearly 12:30. I’d better take lunch before we reopen.” She looked at him, eyes glittering. “Have you eaten yet?”

Finn Skywalker gulped a little at being under her direct gaze. It was like her eyes were twin tractor beams, suspending his very breathing.

“Uh ... actually no.”

“Oh, then did you want to come with? I was just going to go across the street to get a sandwich.”

“Um, I’d like to, but someone barfed in the Tautaun Hut.” Finn grimaced. “I keep telling my dad that the fake guts  _and_ the smell are little much for people, but he says that what they come for. I gotta get it cleaned out before the afternoon rush.”

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Her disappointment was palpable. “Well, can I bring you something back?”

“No thanks. After I get through in there, I don’t think I’m gonna have much of an appetite.”

“Oh, right. Well … I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Um, yep. Sure will. See you. Enjoy your lunch.”

With a somewhat wistful smile, Rey Kenobi gave a small wave before turning to walk down the dim hallway leading to one of the main exits of the  _Tatooine Terror House._ Finn watched her go with a mixture of admiration and annoyance. Of all the days for someone to puke right before his lunch break?

“You should have gone, my boy. She obviously likes you.”

Finn started at the voice, but then relaxed. Great. Just frigging  _great_. As if his day wasn't kriffed-up enough?

He turned and glowered at the ghostly apparition that met his eyes. He was still somewhat stunned that after all this time, he was able to sneak up on him so completely, but mostly, Finn was annoyed.

“Granddad, can we not do this today? It’s been a crappy morning already.” Finn heaved a sigh. “And … I know Rey likes me. We grew up together. We’re … friends.”

“That didn’t look like a ‘friendly’ smile to me.” A slight leer lifted Anakin Skywalker’s pale lips. “Kenobis wear their hearts on their sleeves. Impossible to keep anything in. The stories I could tell you about her grandfather …”

“You’ve told me  _a_ lot of stories about her grandfather,” interrupted Finn. “And some of them are … kind of messed up.”

“Well.” Anakin thought for a minute. “Those were very different times.”

Finn had to hold back a laugh. To say his grandfather had a gift for understatement was an understatement in and of itself. He said nothing, though, as he went to the utility closet and removed mop, bucket, and disinfectant, mixing in the water and preparing to meet his fate.

“You care for her,” persisted Anakin as he floated down the hall after his grandson. “We Skywalker men haven’t had the best track record in our love affairs. I just want to help you to the right path.”

Finn shook his head as he entered the soiled room and began mopping furiously. The haunted house that brought in a tidy income to his family had been in the Skywalker line for ages, and had a reputation for being one of the most authentic haunted houses in the quadrant. Finn had grown up in the  _Terror House,_ little realizing that actual  _ghosts_  inhabited the building. It was almost a joke – a haunted house attraction that was actually  _haunted_?

But there it was. When he’d turned 15, he'd begun to see the phantoms, some of whom seemed to stare out menacingly from dusky corners and hidden nooks. At 18, some began to venture out and speak to him, and it was then he learned that many of the ghosts were those of family members who had long since gone on. It had shocked him at first, but soon it seemed the most natural thing in the world.

His father seemed aware of the situation, telling Finn that the ghosts would not hurt anything and that many of them were just lonely. After all, when the season ended, the  _Terror House_  was shut up tight, leaving them with no real company from the world of living. But other than his father, and his aunt, Finn didn’t think anyone else believed that there were ghosts there. Particularly his older cousin - his Aunt Leia’s boy, who was a prat if ever there was one. He insisted that if their grandfather Anakin would manifest himself to anyone, it would be to  _him_  – his first, and undoubtedly favorite, grandson. Finn didn’t know about all that, but he _had_ noticed that there were times Anakin delayed making his presence known until Ben was well out of sight.

“I didn’t have anyone to give  _me_ advice on wooing your grandmother. Possibly because it was forbidden, but that's beside the point,” Anakin was saying as Finn scrubbed the greater part of the floor. “I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made. Oh, and that reminds me – if you decide to take Rey on a romantic picnic near a lake, it might be best to  _not_ talk politics.”

Finn glanced up. “Uh, no offense, but I really don’t think I’m on the path to making some of the mistakes  _you_ made.”

“Ah. Point taken.” Anakin frowned slightly. “Your grandmother gave me not the least bit encouragement – at first. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was young and inexperienced, though, of course later she changed her mind about things. Your Rey, on the other hand, has galaxies in her eyes when she looks at you. Do you really not see?”

“She’s not ‘my Rey,’ granddad.” Finn sighed and leaned against the mop. “It’s complicated. Like I said, we were brought up together. When her parents died and Aunt Leia took her in, we were constantly together. Almost like cousins.”

“But you aren’t.”

“Right, I know that, but …” Finn chewed his lip in concentration. “I guess I just assumed that’s how we’d see each other. As  _almost_ family. And then …”

“And then you both grew up and you realized how beautiful she was and that you loved her.”

“I guess.” Finn was quiet for a moment. “But I think I always thought Rey was beautiful, even when we were kids.”

Anakin’s expression turned mushy and he seemed to be folding in on himself, as if he were remembering a time well in the past.

“Yes. I understand. You really  _are_ a Skywalker, my boy.”

Finn wondered at the catch in his grandfather’s voice, but he shook his head.

“I don’t want things to be … weird. I don’t want to put myself out there and make Rey uncomfortable and then we stop talking. I don’t want her to feel pressured to date me just because we’ve known each other forever. I don’t want …”

“… You don’t want things to change.” Anakin’s voice was firm. “And declaring your feelings would change things between the two of you.”

“Well … yeah.”

“But perhaps for the better,” Anakin said. “I made many mistakes in life, Finn. Things I will regret for as long as I’m condemned to exist in this form. But bearing my heart to your grandmother was not one of them. It led to tragedy, yes, but it also led to unspeakable joy. It led to your father and your aunt. It led to you.”

“… And Ben, too.”

Anakin squirmed. “Right. Yes. Of course.”

There was silence for a moment. Finn completed a sweep of the floor and then turned back to his grandfather.

“I just … I don’t want to lose her. Maybe she doesn’t like me that way at all. She might see me as a brother or something.”

“You don’t know Kenobis as I do.” Anakin shook his head and looked almost amused. “I must go now. Think about what I’ve said. You’re a Skywalker – we’ve never lacked for bravery. And remember: No politics! Tell her your grandfather strongly advises against it!”

Finn chuckled as Anakin faded away. Right, because  _that_ would cause Rey to fall for him, telling her that their workplace actually was haunted after all and he routinely had conversations with his paternal  _grandfather_ , a convicted criminal who had died years before he was even born. He could just imagine the look on her face if he told her that sort of nonsense.

Sighing, he gathered his tools and prepared to face the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

Rey took a savage bite of her sandwich, swallowed hard, and glanced at her watch again. It was nearly time for the  _Terror House_ to reopen. It seemed that the time had flown by, but that seemed to happen whenever she took her lunch back to the small cubby that was her “office” of sorts in the haunted mansion.

But then again, she’d needed someone to talk to, and it was her good fortune that  _he_ felt strong enough to come by for a quick visit. He said there was too much in the  _Terror House_ that reminded him of … unfortunate events, but there he was, and had listened to her pour out her heart for nearly a half-hour.

Chewing quickly and swallowing, Rey shook her head mournfully.

“Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he just  _doesn’t_  see me in that way. Every time I think he’s going to say something or make some move, he doesn’t, and I don’t want to throw myself at him and make him uncomfortable if he doesn’t feel the same way I do!”

Floating a bit above Rey, the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi looked down at his grandchild with fond exasperation in his expression.

“You said he tells silly jokes. Seems to trip over his feet around you. Smiles when he thinks you’re not looking. And didn’t you say he did some little trick with fruit?” He chuckled softly. “Oh, sweet summer child. This is a Skywalker we’re talking about, and I’ve known about Skywalkers since I was a very young man. Listen to your old grandfather: He’s head over heels.”


End file.
